It could be the beginning of the end between the New Jersey Devils [http://thn.com/newjersey] and defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Johnathan Kovacevic is set to return to the Devils' lineup for their game against the Winnipeg Jets [http://thn.com/winnipeg] on Sunday. Therefore, New Jersey needs to make space on the back end for him to slot in, and they decided to scratch Hamilton. The 32-year-old costs $9 million against the salary cap for another two seasons following this campaign. With this healthy scratch, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/saturday-headlines-why-senators-chose-to-release-statement/] hinted that Hamilton's future with New Jersey could be in doubt during his "Saturday Headlines" segment. He brought up the other details of Hamilton's contract, including a heavily modified no-trade clause [https://puckpedia.com/player/dougie-hamilton]. After holding a full no-move clause in the first four years of his deal, his clause changed to a no-move clause with a 10-team trade list. In fact, Friedman revealed that the Devils had looked to trade Hamilton to the San Jose Sharks [http://thn.com/sanjose] in the past off-season, but the player blocked the trade. Hamilton's agent, J. P. Barry, believes that the decision to scratch Hamilton is a calculated one. "In our view, this decision is all about business rather than his game right now," Barry said, according to Pierre LeBrun [https://x.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/2010078442813837773?s=20]. We have made it clear to the Devils that we will consider teams outside our list and other creative ways to get to a team that is mutually acceptable," Barry added. Dougie Hamilton (John Jones-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9eb9c85a-98f8-4d9b-b640-00dd89ffec2d.jpeg] Dougie Hamilton (John Jones-Imagn Images) Hamilton is in his fifth season with the Devils, the longest tenure he's had with a team in his 14-year career. He has five goals and 10 points this season while averaging 21:41 of ice time. The Toronto native has been traded twice before. The first instance was from the Boston Bruins [http://thn.com/boston] to the Calgary Flames [http://thn.com/calgary], and the second was from the Flames to the Carolina Hurricanes [http://thn.com/carolina]. Given the reports and circumstances within the Devils right now, it may not be long before he's moved again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/25e5d1fc-e235-45d6-9d0b-d4b9cd710ec1.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription?_gl=1*njvm2p*_ga*NDAxOTY4NTMuMTc1NTg5NTA0Mg..*_ga_ZET34ZFCGX*czE3NjgxNDMxMzYkbzUxOSRnMSR0MTc2ODE0MzY3MSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
